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Today went ok. A little bit heavier than the last time I squatted heavy. Last set felt pretty hard today though. Knee didn't hurt at all today, which was good. I felt it but not in a way that aggravated it. Still feels a little bit weaker on the right side than left with heavier weight though.

Also, I think I will be competing October 18. I might do full power if my knee feels good to attempt a pr squat. It will be without wraps or sleeves though, since it is APF, so I will see how it is by then. If not, then I will do bench only or push pull.

Shoulders felt sore today warming up. I used my slingshot early because of this. I consider the last set a pr, because 483 is the most weight I have ever done with the slingshot on, and still near the most at the bottom too (probably 455-460 at the bottom), even though I haven't used it with chains before that I remember. Need to take a week off next week before starting training cycle for October meet. I will still deadlift Friday or Saturday before a week off.

Deadlift (no belt)
135xsome
245x3
335x3
335+40lbs.chainx2
335+120lbs.chainx1
385+120lbs.chainx1
425+120lbs.chainx1 PR
They didn't have a great setup for chains, so they ended up being folded over the bar twice and were all off the floor by the time the bar got to my knees. The last set was one of my best deadlifts without a belt on.

Row with end of bar (can't remember what the guy I was training with called it)
bar+45x8 each side
bar+90x6 each side
bar+135x5 each side
bar+180x5 each side
bar+225x5 each side

Hammer Curls with adjustable db type things
35sx8
45sx8
55sx8
65sx8

Dropped the weight on my toe on the last set of those rows. That was not fun. Had a good deadlift today though at least and my knee felt normal the entire time, which was good. And I can hang with a 600 pound bencher on rows but not on bench...damn. Taking a week off now then start training for October meet.

I thought about trying shoulder pressing with bands a couple weeks ago. I liked it actually. I have no idea what the bands added. They were only mini bands, but were looped around pegs at the floor. 255 plus bands was not easy but not really a max lift. Probably could have only got another 5-10lbs. though. These felt like the right size bands to use though. I would use the black mini bands, but I think purples would be too much for this lift.

The weights may have been 5-10lbs. heavier but unsure of bar weight so I went with 60 as the lower guess versus 65-70.

That's all I did today. Had to wait till a couple people finished squatting with a different bar first. Knee felt good the whole time. My best with a cambered bar a couple years ago with belt/loose wraps was 585 and tight wraps was 635, and that was shortly before by best squatting. So, not too far off and only been over 500 on any squat a handful of time so far since the knee issue. Definitely considering full power in October but see how it goes. I want to go over 650 no wraps if so. I'm happy about this though.

260 on this was really at least 300 because I couldn't stay in the seat well and I weigh over 260

Machine Rows neutral grip
125x15
170x10
215x10
280x8

Shrugs on Calf Raise (paused reps)
90x10
135x10
180x10
225x10

Last set felt like 600ish. This machine the weight is very deceiving. The stack is only around 330, and you would think that is nothing at all for a calf raise, but I guarantee that 330 is easily comparable to 1000 on other machines.

Curls on free motion cable machine (each arm)
20x10
30x8
40x8

Preacher Curls (each arm)
40x8
50x8
65x8
Drop Set: 40x8/20x12

That's all. I have to highly recommend some of the machines at this gym. The stack or sometimes even less is actually difficult on a lot of them and they still feel like a smooth movement. If I had a private gym sometime, I would definitely buy some of these models for myself to use.

Good day. Thought that the heaviest set of bench was 451, since one of the guys said he thought the bar was 30 plus I had 11lbs. collars on it. I weighed the bar after and it was a little less than 20, so about 30 with the collars. I thought it felt light for that weight, but still an easy 440 and with a fat bar this far away from the meet is good for me. Felt like I could have done another 10-15lbs., but I don't usually do two heavy singles in a row too well and since I thought it was already a significant pr, I stopped there today and just did a few reps after.

Good day. First time in a long time I did goodmornings. At least they still feel easy. I considered doing one more set, but felt like the bar would not hold much more weight, as it was bending a lot on the last set, so decided not to. Deadlifts were not bad considering being after doing those heavy.

I wanted to get 450 on carpet press today. Barely missed it. Was very fast off the bottom and stalled just over halfway. I felt like the spotter touched it a little too soon, but I don't think I would have finished it necessarily. If I did it would have been a very iffy lockout. I need to keep working on lockout a lot before this meet to bench over 450 though. Definitely feel stronger on the bottom part of the lift though, especially this far before a meet. 10 more weeks.

Squat was ok. Definitely not my best against bands, but first time using them in 2 years. And these were newer bands. It took awhile to get used to. It bothered my knee a little bit, but not real bad. It did however feel like I'm using both legs much more evenly now, and did not feel weaker on the right side at all. 425 did not feel like a max attempt, just a heavy single. I actually wanted to do a double with it but my setup felt bad on the first rep and decided to stop there.

I think this was pretty similar to the other setup a few weeks ago as far as band tension. They didn't have two bands that matched anymore. I don't have any mini bands of my own right now so this had to do.

Good day. 255x3 was hard with the mini band. Just did the rest on machines today. I'm considering doing a shoulder press like this alternate with heavy benching every other week. But do some bench work on this day, just not with a barbell, either machines like this or dumbbells. Have to see how my shoulders feel though for benching next week to see if it's a good idea or not.

Deadlift wasn't great today. Every set 405 on was about the same, finished them but all really slow. I need to start pulling against bands again I think if I want to pull 600 in 9 weeks, and start using a belt soon.

A friend of mine and myself wanted to try out this gym. It was decent. The flat benches weren't the best though. They were pretty slippery and I didn't bring stickum or anything with me. They do have a monolift and some other decent equipment and bars though. Bench was ok today, but not great. Would have liked to get 340-350 plus 100 chains. But 325 with chains was definitely it today. I wanted to do shoulders heavy next week one more time, but think it will be a little closer to the meet then I thought with number of bench days left. So I think I will start cutting out some of that stuff now instead. Might just do a light day one more time instead, but definitely need a day or two more rest next time between benching. My shoulder wasn't too happy today and weight felt slow.

I don't know what the tension was. These were brand new bands I just bought and were tight at the start.

Leg Press
318x20
408x10
498x10
588x10
678x10

Leg Extensions
3sets of 20 light

Leg Curls
3sets of 20 light/paused reps

Ab Machine
5sets of 10-20

I was supposed to squat with someone today, who decided a couple hours beforehand that he wasn't going to train today, so since I would likely have no one to spot at the other gym, I just did some light deadlift (speed work pretty much) and legs at this gym.

I've decided to compete in push/pull in October. Squatting feels ok, but I don't feel ready yet to go as heavy as I want or that would have a significant total pr, so I would rather save energy to hit a bench pr and pull after. I'm going to try something similar training deadlift as I did a couple years ago before a meet that I had a significant improvement in my pull. The whole cycle was against bands (these same kind actually) but started light like this. I will be using bands and lockout work the rest of the training cycle for bench also. Squat will be an assistance lift most weeks for deadlift. I'm going to do the same as before when I did a push/pull and just try to go heavier without a belt each week.

Almost nowhere was open today. I really hate that about holidays. So this had to do even though the equipment for benching isn't the best, it's ok. I did have a couple people to train with though. These were also brand new bands (regular size ones) I bought. It was about 200 or a little more at the top of band tension. A 95lbs. dumbbell hung from the band on one side barely touched the floor with the bar sitting in the rack. Since there were no heavier dumbbells, the bands were doubled under the power rack instead, so it was stretched an extra 6 inches or so. I have never tried using bands off boards before, but they are very hard. I feel like pressing off the bottom with them is definitely easier. Going to use 2-board next time.

Definitely one of my best squats without a belt or wraps ever. Weight was about 575lbs. at the top and probably 485lbs. or so at the bottom. Only once I did around 530lbs. straight weight that I think is comparable. Last set was not easy. I was surprised how easy the one before was though. I may have to squat at the meet next month. I'm just worried about pulling at the end after squatting heavy and benching. My knee feels ok squatting heavy now, but not great. I was planning to deadlift after tonight, but I didn't feel it would be a great idea because of that.